Connor Buhk: Lifesaver found not guilty of raping woman at Gold Coast surf club

A courtroom has exploded with emotion as a jury revealed its decision in the trial for a lifesaver accused of raping a woman at a Gold Coast surf club.

Connor Buhk. Picture: file

A courtroom has erupted as a lifesaver was found not guilty of raping a woman at a Gold Coast surf club.

Several of Connor Buhk’s friends and family members clapped, cheered or loudly burst into tears when the jury delivered their verdict on Friday morning.

The complainant’s mother and her other supporters were comparatively stoic as the decision was announced.

The jury returned after less than an hour of deliberations on Friday, having been sent home the previous afternoon after writing a note to Chief Judge Brian Devereaux saying they were at that point struggling to reach a unanimous verdict.

It had been alleged Mr Buhk raped a woman at the Kirra Surf Club on a night in September, 2020, where they were both staying.

Mr Buhk stood quietly as he was discharged after the jury’s not guilty verdict, and neither he nor his family members and other supporters responded to reporters’ questions as they left the courthouse. A member of his legal team said they were “very happy” with the outcome.

The verdict came early on the fifth day of Mr Buhk’s trial in Southport District Court, in which about a dozen witnesses gave evidence across three days.

Mr Buhk always maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to the rape charge on the first day of proceedings.

It was heard during the trial that Mr Buhk told several people he and the woman were consensually intimate that night, but did not have sex due to his intoxication levels.

The court was told medical and forensic testing did not show injuries to the woman or any trace of Mr Buhk's DNA, though the results neither proved nor disproved the allegation.

The 25-year-old was suspended from lifesaving duties and competition at the time of his trial.

Surf Life Saving Queensland issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying Mr Buhk was now “free to reapply to join”.

“The matter has been determined before the courts and we respect the decision of the judge and jury in this matter,” it read.

DAY 4: Rape-accused lifesaver’s anxious wait as jury deliberates

The fate of a lifesaver accused of raping a woman at a Gold Coast surf club hangs in the balance as the jury deliberates its verdict.

The anxious wait for Connor Buhk and close to a dozen of his supporters for the decision of the six-man, six-woman jury began early Thursday afternoon, the fourth day of his trial in Southport District Court.

Mr Buhk, 25, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape on the first day of proceedings.

It is alleged the currently suspended lifesaver raped a woman as she slept at the Kirra Surf Club on a night in September, 2020. They were both staying at the club at the time.

Evidence was heard during the trial that Mr Buhk later claimed the pair had consensual contact that night, after initially denying being with the woman.

The jury was sent home after only a few hours of deliberation, having sent a note to Chief Judge Brian Devereaux saying they were so far unable to reach a unanimous decision.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso told the jury during her closing address that the alleged victim’s account – that she woke up in the dark to find someone on top of her having sex with her – was straightforward and consistent.

Ms Kelso said the woman’s use of phrases such as “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure” were in response to questions about “peripheral” events that night, on which she had been drinking.

“What the memory doesn’t fade with over time is the big events, the things that matter – and being raped that night was a big event for (her) and it’s why she can be clear about those details in her evidence,” she said.

“(She) told you herself – at first, she didn’t want to do anything about it because she wanted to push it to the back of her mind and never think about it again.”

Ms Kelso said any focus on the woman’s father’s involvement in her making a complaint was a “distraction” from what the jury needed to consider.

It was heard during the trial that no injuries or traces of Mr Buhk’s DNA were found during medical and forensic testing.

Defence barrister Russell Pearce told jurors it was “implausible” his client could have carried out the offence as alleged in the space of a few minutes while intoxicated and in a pitch black room.

Mr Pearce claimed the encounter was consensual – with the alleged victim approaching Mr Buhk – and her complaint driven by “the embarrassment of discovery or potential discovery”.

“This case, with the greatest respect, is all about that suspicion – where there’s smoke, there’s fire – she’s made these claims, (but) is there some other explanation,” he said.

Mr Pearce told jurors the woman allegedly “dodged the truth” at times when giving evidence, and that testimony from other witnesses “painted the lie”.

Deliberations will resume on Friday morning.

DAY 3: Conversations that followed alleged surf club rape: court

A man accused of raping a woman at a Gold Coast surf club told the club president he did not want to be labelled a rapist for what he believed was consensual contact, a court has been told.

Lifesaver Connor Buhk, 25, is currently on trial in Southport District Court, having pleaded not guilty to one count of rape.

It is alleged a woman woke up to find Mr Buhk having sex with her as she slept at the Kirra Surf Club on a night in September, 2020, where they were both staying.

The court was told this week that Mr Buhk at first denied having been with the woman, but later said they engaged in consensual contact.

Then-president of the Kirra SLSC Joel Kinneally gave evidence that he spoke with the woman and her parents the day after the alleged rape.

“She said she believed somebody came into (the room) with her and attempted to have sex, but she wasn’t sure. She believed it to be Connor Buhk,” Mr Kinneally told the court.

“(She also spoke) just about sounds and stuff, about what she heard – like a belt buckle or stuff like that.”

Connor Buhk leaving the Southport courthouse. Picture: Jessica Paul

Mr Kinneally told the court the woman was taken to hospital later that day at her father’s request.

Both Mr Kinneally and his wife Gabrielle Kinneally – who also held a position with the club at the time – said they met with Mr Buhk and his father about a week later.

They said Mr Buhk told them he believed he and the woman consented to sexual contact, as they allegedly “both had their hands down each other’s pants” during the encounter.

Mrs Kinneally said Mr Buhk voiced concerns about the woman’s father talking to people about the accusation, including calling the lifesaver’s girlfriend while she was interstate.

The alleged victim’s father also gave evidence on Wednesday, saying Mr Buhk told him the next day that he and the woman were “mucking around” by consent.

Mr Buhk’s barrister Russell Pearce claimed in cross-examination that the woman’s father had been more confrontational towards his client and became “determined” that an official complaint would be made, despite his daughter’s initial reluctance.

Mr Pearce said the man also pushed to have Mr Buhk’s bail conditions varied to have him banned from surf lifesaving events, and agreed to the trial being delayed days before it was due to start last year for further DNA testing amid a royal commission into the state’s system.

The woman’s father denied claims he pursued another round of testing after being told no DNA that would implicate Mr Buhk was found.

An investigating police officer also gave evidence, saying the woman was undecided for about two weeks before proceeding with the complaint in November, 2020.

He said she was told about the potential impact it could have on the Kirra SLSC before making the decision, and was with her father at the time.

Mr Buhk did not give or call evidence.

The trial will resume with both parties’ closing addresses on Thursday.

DAY 2: Rape-accused, jurors taken to scene of alleged surf club rape

A lifesaver accused of raping a woman at a southern Gold Coast surf club has been taken back to the scene of the alleged offence – along with the jury – on the second day of his trial.

Connor Buhk, 25, is facing trial in Southport District Court this week charged with one count of rape. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

It is alleged the lifesaver raped a woman at the Kirra Surf Club on a night in September, 2020, where they were both staying.

The court was told on the first day of proceedings that the woman allegedly woke up to find a person – later said to be Mr Buhk – on top of her having sex with her.

It was heard Mr Buhk initially denied having been with the woman at the time, but later said they had engaged in consensual contact.

The six-man, six-woman jury was driven to the Kirra venue during Tuesday’s proceedings, being shown various areas of the clubhouse connected to the alleged rape.

Mr Buhk was present, along with both his defence team and the prosecution.

The second day of the trial also saw testimony from witnesses who had been present at the surf club.

Several told the court they saw the woman and Mr Buhk’s level of intoxication as the evening progressed.

One described the woman as “very wasted” before ­putting her to bed, and another recounted leading Mr Buhk to where he was sleeping, saying he “understood he needed to go”.

Witnesses also told the court they had searched for Mr Buhk inside and around the venue after realising he was no longer in his bed.

One person claimed Mr Buhk reappeared in the hallway and was zipping up his pants as he approached, conceding under cross-examination from defence barrister Russell Pearce that he could have been coming from either the men’s toilets or where the woman was sleeping.

The jury was told by several witnesses that the woman seemed shaken and disoriented when she later went into another room where other people were sleeping.

“I asked her what happened, and she said she was in bed and woke up to someone trying to have sex with her,” one witness said.

The court was told the woman struggled to give details of the alleged rape at the time, and was asking others whether she had “egged something on” earlier in the night.

One witness said they did not believe the woman knew who had allegedly been in the room before being told it was Mr Buhk.

The trial will continue on Wednesday.

DAY 1: Lifesaver accused of raping woman at Gold Coast surf club

A lifesaver accused of raping a woman as she slept at a Gold Coast surf club later claimed he thought they “were both into” any sexual contact, a court has been told.

Connor Buhk pleaded not guilty to one count of rape at the beginning of his trial in Southport District Court on Monday.

It is alleged the 25-year-old raped the woman at the Kirra surf club in the early hours of the morning on September 13, 2020.

Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Kelso said in her opening address that Mr Buhk and his alleged victim had been drinking heavily at an event at the club earlier that night, and had been taken upstairs to sleep in separate areas.

Ms Kelso said the woman allegedly woke at about 1.30am to find another person on top of her.

“She then realised this person was not just on top of her, but this person was having sex with her … and she could not tell if he was wearing a condom or not,” she said.

Connor Buhk. Picture: file

“She’ll tell you she doesn’t remember if she said anything (after pushing him), but the male got off her when she pushed at him and he said something to her – and it was then that she recognised the voice as belonging to Connor Buhk, the defendant.”

Ms Kelso told the jury that other people noticed Mr Buhk was no longer where they had left him and started to search for him.

She said that when he was found and being walked back to where he had been sleeping, he denied having been in the same room as the alleged victim.

The court was told the woman told several people about the alleged rape that night and was taken to Robina Hospital the next day.

It was heard medical evidence would show that neither Mr Buhk’s DNA nor any injuries were found during the examination.

Ms Kelso said that when Mr Buhk later spoke with the woman’s family and surf club representatives, he said they had kissed and engaged in foreplay but did not have sex because he struggled to get an erection.

The court was told Mr Buhk said he thought he and the woman “were both into it”.

His alleged victim was the first witness to give evidence on Monday.

The trial continues before Chief Judge Brian Devereaux.

Originally published as Connor Buhk: Lifesaver found not guilty of raping woman at Gold Coast surf club